I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of wheel locks that are attachable to trailer wheels and lug nuts to prevent trailers from being stolen or moved without authorization. The invention is applicable to other types of vehicle wheels, in addition to trailers.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Locking trailers to prevent them from being stolen requires locking their wheels because there is no door to lock as for cars and trucks. There have been a variety of mechanisms for locking trailer wheels but none that attach to a lug nut on a wheel and provide a means to prevent wheel rotation as taught by this invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,121 taught a chock that clamped onto a wheel rim. U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,366 taught a blocking bar that was attachable with bolts inserted through openings in wheels. U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,462 describes a chock on a bar that is attachable to lug bolts directly instead of being attachable to a nut shield that is held with a wheel nut as taught by this invention. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,856,308 and 4,738,127, granted to the same inventor, taught a steering-wheel lock with a telescopic bar different from a telescopic bar and lock employed in this invention with lug-bolt attachment and wheel-chock features not employed in the steering-wheel lock. U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,426 taught a wheel clamp with a disk that covered the hub section of a wheel on one jaw of the clamp and a hook that grasped the opposite side of a wheel. Although these and other known devices have features that are advantageous for particular applications, they are different and do not provide the convenience, ease of attachment and economy of protection against theft that is provided by this invention.